Level editor reference

The Level tab edits LDtk projects (.ldtk, with .ldtkl files for external levels) in place. The file stays an LDtk project: it still opens in LDtk, and the game’s LDtk Level nodes read it and reload when you save.

• Levels (left): the world’s levels.
• Layers (right): the active level’s layers and the active layer’s palette.
• Canvas (middle): paint and place things in the active level.
• Bottom panel: World, Level, Tilesets, Entities, Enums, Layers, Rules and Project tabs.

Hover anything and press F1 to open its page here. The ? buttons do the same.

Canvas

The canvas shows the active world. The active level is drawn on top, and the other levels are dimmed. Click another level to make it active.

Pan	Middle drag, or Space + drag
Zoom	Mouse wheel (around the mouse); the zoom box in the toolbar
Fit the level	Home, or the expand button in the toolbar
Grid	G, or the grid button in the toolbar
IntGrid colours over auto tiles	the eye button in the toolbar

The bottom line shows the level, the layer, the cell under the mouse and its IntGrid value.

Tools

Brush

B. Paints on the active layer:

• IntGrid: the picked value. The right button erases.
• Tiles: the picked tiles as a stamp. Flip it with X and Y.
• Entities: places the picked entity on the grid. Hold Shift to place it off the grid.

Shift + drag paints a rectangle instead (as with the Rectangle tool). Each stroke is one undo step. Auto tiles follow every painted cell.

Rectangle

R. Drag a rectangle and release to fill it with the picked value or tiles. The tiles repeat across the rectangle. Drag with the right button to erase the rectangle instead.

Erase

E. Erases the IntGrid value or tiles under the mouse. With the other tools, the right button erases too.

Fill

F. Fills the connected area of equal cells (the same IntGrid value, or the same top tile) with the picked value or tiles. The right button fills that area with nothing (erases it).

Pick

I. Picks the IntGrid value, or the tile (with its flips), under the mouse, then switches back to the Brush.

Select

V, or hold Alt with any tool (LDtk’s selection).

Click	select the entity or cell under the mouse; the layer becomes active
Shift + click	add to the selection, or remove from it
Shift + drag on empty space	rectangle selection, over every visible layer
Drag the selection	move it: cells by whole cells, entities snapped to the grid (Shift: free)
Cmd+Alt + drag	copy the selection instead of moving it
Arrow keys	move the selection by one cell
Delete	delete what is selected
Cmd+A / Cmd+Shift+A	select everything in the active layer / in every layer
Cmd+C, Cmd+X, Cmd+V	copy / cut / paste (pasted under the mouse)
Cmd+D	duplicate the selection, one cell to the right
Esc	clear the selection
The corner handle	resize a single resizable entity

Selected cells move or copy together across layers when their grids line up. Cells that land outside their layer are dropped, and the cells they land on are replaced. Moving an entity to another Entities layer is in the Level tab, under Layer.

Move levels

M. Drag levels around the world. In GridVania worlds they snap to the world grid, and elsewhere to the default grid. In linear layouts, positions come from the order in the Levels panel.

Panels

Levels panel

The active world’s levels. Click one to open it, and double-click to frame it. The filter box keeps only the levels whose name contains its text.

+ adds a level: click where it goes in the canvas. A preview follows the mouse, pushed out of the levels it would overlap: green means free, red means no room. In linear layouts the preview marks where the level is inserted. Esc or a right click cancels. Shift+click on + adds it right next to the active level instead.

The bin deletes the active level (not a world’s last level). Right-click a level for more: open, frame, rename, duplicate, move up / down, delete.

Layers panel

The active level’s layers, top first, shown as Type: Name.

• Click a layer to make it active.
• Drag a layer by its grip to put it in another order. That changes every level.
• The eye hides a layer. This is LDtk’s per-level visibility, and it is saved.
• + opens New Layer. The sliders button opens the Layers tab.

Right-click a layer for more: settings, rules, hide / show, move up / down, duplicate, delete.

Under the list is the active layer’s palette.

New layer

Type	IntGrid: values per cell (collisions, terrain types); with a tileset, its rules draw tiles. Entities: placed objects with fields. Tiles: tiles painted by hand. Auto: tiles drawn by rules that read an IntGrid layer.
Identifier	Its name (letters, digits, _).
Grid size	Cell size in pixels.
Tileset	The tileset its tiles come from.
Rules read	Auto layers: the IntGrid layer their rules look at.

New layers go on top of every level.

IntGrid palette

The layer’s values. Click one, or press 1-9, then paint. The value’s colour shows in the canvas. Values are added and named in the Layers tab. Right-click a value to edit it.

Tile palette

The layer’s tileset. Click a tile, or drag over several to make a stamp. X / Y flip what you paint. The zoom slider scales the tileset.

The picked tiles are also used by:

• Rules: the tiles button, and terrains;
• Tilesets: animating a tile;
• Entities: an entity’s tile.

Stamp and Random modes

The dice button switches modes (Shift+R):

• Stamp: the picked tiles are painted as a block, keeping their places in the tileset (any shape: holes stay empty). Rectangles and fills repeat the block.
• Random: each painted cell gets one of the picked tiles at random. This is useful for grass, floors and rubble. Rectangles and fills pick a random tile per cell.

Tile stacking

The layers button (Shift+T) toggles stacking. With stacking on:

• a painted tile goes on top of the tiles already in the cell, so you can put decorations over a floor;
• painting the same tile again moves it back to the top;
• an opaque tile (no transparent pixel) still replaces the stack;
• erasing removes only the top tile.

Saved tile groups

Pick several tiles, then click the bookmark button (or press Shift+S). From then on, clicking any tile of that group picks the whole group, in its mode (Stamp or Random). Alt + click picks just the one tile. Saved groups are outlined in the palette. Right-click the palette to forget a group. Groups are stored in the tileset (LDtk’s saved selections).

Tileset per level

Right-click a layer, then choose Tileset in this level, to draw that layer with another tileset in the active level only. Examples: a winter version of a level, or a different palette. The tiles keep their ids, so the other tileset should have the same layout. The layer’s own goes back to the layer’s tileset.

Entity palette

The project’s entities. Pick one, then click in the level with the Brush. Use the Select tool to move entities, and Delete to remove them. Right-click an entity to edit its definition.

A selected resizable entity shows handles (LDtk’s resize tool): on its left and right sides when it resizes horizontally, top and bottom when it resizes vertically, and every side and corner when both. Dragging a handle snaps to the grid (hold Shift for free sizes). The entity grows around its pivot; its position only moves when you drag the side its pivot is on. Its definition’s minimum / maximum sizes and aspect ratio apply.

Auto-layer rules (palette)

The layer’s rule groups. A check box turns an optional group on or off for this level. Re-run rules regenerates this level’s auto tiles. An Auto layer has no cells of its own: paint the IntGrid layer it reads.

Bottom panel

World tab

Multiple worlds	Lets a project have several worlds. See Worlds.
Name	The world’s identifier (only with multiple worlds).
Layout	Free: levels anywhere. GridVania: levels on the world grid. Linear horizontal / vertical: in a row or column, in the order of the Levels panel.
World grid	GridVania’s grid cell size. Levels move and resize in these steps.
New level size	The size of levels added to this world.
Map	Every level of the world. Click one to open it.

Worlds

A project can hold several worlds, each with its own levels, layout and grid. This is LDtk’s MultiWorlds option. Turn on Multiple worlds in the World tab, or click + World. The levels and world settings then move into a list of worlds in the file.

• + World adds a world with one level and opens it.
• Click a world in the list to open it. The Levels panel also has a world picker.
• Right-click a world to open, rename or delete it. Deleting a world deletes its levels too; undo brings them back. The last world can’t be deleted.
• Multiple worlds turns off again only when one world is left.

Level names can include the world’s name: put %world in the project’s level name pattern.

Resizing levels

Handles sit around the active level’s edges and corners. Drag one to resize the level. Changes snap to the active layer’s grid; in a GridVania world they snap to the world grid. A preview shows the new size, in red while it is smaller than one cell.

Dragging the left or top edge moves the level in the world: cells and entities keep their world positions. When an edge moves by part of a cell, the remainder goes into the layer’s offset (as in LDtk). Entities that end up outside the level are deleted, unless their definition allows out of bounds. A message gives the count, and undo brings them back.

The Level tab’s Size field resizes from the top-left corner.

Level background image

Under the background colour, the Level tab picks an image from the project. It is drawn behind the level’s layers.

• Image position: Not scaled; Fit inside (the whole image, keeping its aspect ratio); Cover level (fills the level, keeping its aspect ratio; the rest is cropped); Cover (dirty scaling) (stretched to the level); Repeat (tiled).
• Image pivot: which part stays visible when the image is cropped, and where a smaller image sits.
• Remove image clears it.

The file gets the image’s placement in __bgPos (top-left, scale and crop rectangle), so games can draw it the way the editor does.

Level tab

The active level’s identifier (or Auto: named from the project’s level name pattern), position, size (Enter applies), depth, background colour and image, and its level fields. With an entity selected, it shows the entity instead: position, size, layer, iid and fields.

Tilesets tab

Add from an image… makes a tileset from an image of the project. The list groups tilesets by their first tag, and has a filter box. Right-click a tileset to copy, cut, paste after, duplicate, move, reload its image or delete it. Deleting a used tileset asks first: layers, entities, Tile fields and enum / IntGrid icons using it lose it. LDtk’s embedded icon atlas is listed as [embedded]; it is kept but can’t be drawn here.

The form has the identifier, the image, the tile size, spacing / padding, tags and the tag enum (see Tileset images and Tile tags). Below it is the tile grid: click a tile to edit its custom data (dots mark tiles that have some; green ones are animated), its animation and its tags.

Tileset images

• Image: pick another image of the project, or reload the file. The editor also reloads it when it changes on disk. When the image’s size changes, painted tiles, rules, saved tile groups, tags and custom data keep their place in the image: their tile ids are remapped, as in LDtk. A smaller image can lose tiles; when it is smaller by exactly its padding, the padding is reduced instead.
• Tile size: changing it remaps the tile ids the same way (a bigger size can lose tiles; undo brings them back).
• Spacing / padding: the pixels between tiles and around the image.

Tile tags

A tileset can tag its tiles with the values of one enum: its tag enum. Games read the tags (for example “water”, “damage”), and a tile can have several. Click a value above the tile grid, then click tiles to tag or untag them; coloured bars show each tile’s tags. The hand button goes back to picking tiles. Changing the tag enum forgets the tags (it asks first).

Animated tiles

Pick the frames in a tileset palette (in order: left to right, top to bottom). In the Tilesets tab, click the first frame, then Animate with picked tiles, and set fps. Wherever the first frame is painted or placed by a rule, it animates in the editors and in the game.

The animation is stored in the tile’s custom data:

anim=40,41,42,43
fps=6

Entities tab

On the left is the list of entity definitions. Right-click one to place, duplicate, reorder or delete it. In a narrow panel, the definition’s Settings and Fields are two tabs; in a wide one they sit side by side.

Setting
Identifier, Doc, Tags	Its name, a description, and comma-separated tags. Layers can require or exclude tags, and references can allow them.
Size, Resizable X / Y	Its default size, and whether instances can be resized with the corner handle.
Keep aspect, Min / Max width / height	Limits for resizing.
Pivot	The point placed on the grid.
Colour	Its colour in the editor. A field can override it (smart colour).
Render	Rectangle, Ellipse, Tile or Cross.
Tile, Tile mode	Its picture (Use picked tile), and how the picture fills the box: Cover, Fit inside, Repeat, Stretch, Full size (cropped / uncropped), 9-slice (with borders).
Tile / Fill / Line opacity, Hollow	How it looks. A hollow entity is selected by its outline only.
Show name	Its name above it in the canvas.
Max count, Limit, When reached	At most N per layer, per level or per world. Placing one more moves the last one, discards the oldest, or is prevented.
Table of contents	List its instances in the project’s toc, for games.
Out of bounds	Instances may stand outside their level.

Field definitions

Pick a field in the list (right-click it to duplicate, reorder or delete it), or add one by picking a type and clicking Add field.

Setting
Identifier, Doc	Its name (a script property with this name gets the value) and a description.
Type	Converts the field and its values: String to Multilines and back, FilePath to String and back, Int to Float, Bool to Int, Float to Int (truncate / round), and any field to an array.
Min / Max values	Array length limits.
Nullable	Whether it can be empty.
Default	The value new instances use.
Min / Max	Number limits.
Regex	String values must match it, written /pattern/flags.
File types	Accepted extensions for FilePath fields.
Language	Multilines syntax (used for LDtk’s highlighting).
Tileset	Tile fields: where the tiles come from.
Can point at, Other levels, Symmetrical, Auto chain	Rules for references.
Smart colour	A Color or Enum field gives the entity its colour.
Display, Position, Link style, Display colour, Display scale, Always show, In world view, Cut long values, Prefix / Suffix	How the canvas shows it (see Field display in the canvas).
Table of contents, Searchable	Its value in toc entries; searchable values.

Fields

Values that each entity (or level) carries for the game. Edit them in the Level tab: the selected entity’s fields, or the level’s.

Type	Edited with
Int, Float	a number (kept within the definition’s min / max)
Bool	a check box
String	one line; it must match the definition’s regex, if there is one
Multilines	a text box
Color	a colour picker
Enum	a list of the enum’s values
Point	“cx,cy”, or the crosshair: click a cell in the level
FilePath	a path, or the folder button: a project file of an accepted type
EntityRef	the crosshair: click the entity in the level (it may be in another level); the arrow button goes to it
Tile	Use picked tile: the tiles picked in a tileset palette

• Arrays: + adds a value (for points and references, you then click in the level, and Shift keeps adding). Each value has move up, move down and remove buttons.
• Defaults: a value that is still the definition’s default is dimmed. Right-click > Reset to default brings the default back. Clear empties a nullable field.
• Errors show in red: a required value missing, a reference to an entity that no longer exists or isn’t allowed, a string that doesn’t match the regex, a file of the wrong type.
• Symmetrical references (a definition option): pointing A at B makes B point at A, and clearing it removes both links.

In the game, an entity’s fields set the script properties with the same names.

Field display in the canvas

Each field definition decides how the canvas shows it (Display in the Entities tab):

Display
Hidden	not shown
Value only / Name and value	text above, at the centre of, or beneath the entity
Array count (with / without label)	how many values
Entity tile	an enum’s icon or a tile field becomes the entity’s picture
Points / Path / Loop / Star	the points, joined as a path, a closed loop, or lines from the entity
Radius (px / grid)	a circle of that radius
Reference link (pivots / centres)	an arrow to the referenced entity, in the chosen link style

Fields still at their default (or empty arrays) are only shown when Always show is on. Errors are always shown, in red.

Enums tab

Enumerations are lists of named values, used by Enum fields, tileset tags and rule biomes.

• Add enum adds one. Import brings in enums from a file (see External enums).
• Right-click an enum to copy, cut, paste after, duplicate, move or delete it. Deleting an enum also deletes the fields that use it (it asks first). The list groups enums by their first tag.
• Identifier, tags, and icons from: the tileset each value’s icon comes from. Changing it clears the icons.
• Values: a colour (used for smart colours), an icon (click the picture), and a name. Renaming a value updates the fields that use it, the tilesets’ enum tags and the rule biomes. Right-click a value to move it, clear its icon or remove it. Removing a used value asks first; those fields become empty.

External enums

Import reads enums from a file of the project and keeps them linked to it. Supported files:

File	Format
Text (.txt)	One enum per line: Name: A, B, C (or ; or spaces)
JSON (.json)	{"Name": ["A", "B"]} or {"Name": "A, B"}
Haxe (.hx)	Simple enums: enum Name { A; B; } (enums with parameters are skipped)
CastleDB (.cdb)	Sheets with a unique identifier column; a colour column gives colours

External enums can’t be renamed or edited by hand; they follow their file. The list shows each file with buttons to sync it (reload) or remove its enums. “(changed)” means the file changed since the last sync, and “(missing)” means it’s gone. Opening the project syncs changed files.

Syncing adds new enums and values and removes the ones the file no longer has. When removed values are used by fields, a dialog asks what each one becomes: removed (the fields become empty), or renamed to one of the new values (the fields keep their choice). Values follow the file’s order.

Layers tab

The layer list on the left, and the picked layer’s settings on the right. Right-click a layer to copy, cut, paste after, duplicate, move, bake, move its entities, or delete it. Right-click the empty part of the list to paste at the bottom. Duplicates and pasted layers get new uids (their rules too), a free name and empty content.

Identifier, Documentation	The name (unique), and a note shown in tooltips.
UI colour	Marks the layer in lists.
Grid size	Cells keep their coordinates when it changes; entities are scaled. Auto layers reading this layer follow. An Auto layer’s grid is its source’s.
Guide grid, Opacity, Inactive opacity, Hide in list, …	See Layer display.
Offset	Moves the whole layer by some pixels.
Parallax	See Parallax.
Filter tags	Tags grouping layers (kept for LDtk).

Per type:

• IntGrid: the values (see IntGrid values). Also the auto-layer tileset its own rules use, the biome field (a level Enum field rule groups can test), and tiles removed by (a Tiles layer: where it has a tile, the auto tiles are left out).
• Auto layer: Rules read (its IntGrid source; the grid follows), the tileset, the biome field and tiles removed by.
• Entities: required / excluded tags decide which entities can go in it. Move entities… moves all of them, one kind, or one tag to another Entities layer in every level. The target layer’s tags must accept them.
• Tiles: the tileset (the layer takes its grid; a warning shows when the grids aren’t multiples) and the tile pivot (where tiles bigger than a cell sit).

Layer display

• Guide grid: extra lines every W / H pixels while the layer is active, for rooms or screens (0: none).
• Opacity: always applied. Inactive opacity: applied while another layer is active (0 hides it).
• Hide in list: the Layers panel leaves the layer out unless it is active. It is still drawn.
• Hide fields when inactive: entity names and field labels show only while the layer is active.
• Selectable when inactive: when off, the Select tool and Alt only pick this layer’s content while it is active.
• Render in world view, Async render: LDtk options, kept in the file.

Parallax

A parallax factor makes a layer move slower (positive, far away) or faster (negative, close) than the camera. 0 means none and 1 fixes it to the screen. With parallax scaling, far layers are also drawn smaller so they still fit the level, and Y follows X.

The canvas shows parallax on the active level’s other layers as you pan. The active layer stays in place so painting lands where you click. Clicks on the other layers follow the parallax.

IntGrid values

Each value has a colour, a number and an identifier.

• Icons from picks a tileset; then click a value’s picture button to pick its icon tile. The palette shows icons instead of colours.
• Add group adds a group. Right-click a group’s header to rename it, colour it, move it or delete it; its values go back to Ungrouped. The palette lists values by group.
• Right-click a value to move it up or down, move it to a group, clear its icon, or remove it. Removing a painted value asks first, because its cells are cleared.

Baking

Bake… (an Auto layer’s or IntGrid layer’s menu, or the Layers tab) flattens its generated tiles into a new Tiles layer, <name>_baked, placed after it. Tiles are stacked as LDtk stacks them. Choose what happens to the original: deleted, emptied (IntGrid layers lose their values), or kept. A layer that an Auto layer reads can’t be baked.

Rules tab

Auto-layer rules draw tiles from an IntGrid layer’s values. An IntGrid layer with a tileset has rules of its own; an Auto layer reads another IntGrid layer’s values.

The tab has three columns: the layers that have rules, that layer’s groups and rules, and the editor for the picked rule.

Groups run from the top down, and their rules run top to bottom. The check box turns a group on or off, and the arrow folds it. Badges show whether the group is optional, made by the Assistant, or limited to a biome. Right-click a group to:

• rename it;
• duplicate and remap it (see below);
• copy it (Paste sits next to the add buttons);
• make it optional or global;
• set its colour, or use the picked tile as its icon;
• limit it to a biome;
• set the out-of-bounds value of all its rules;
• move or delete it.

Assistant groups open in the Assistant on a double-click. Advanced mode turns one into plain rules.

Rules: each row shows the rule’s pattern, its tiles and its options. Click a row to edit it. Right-click a row to:

• edit it;
• show the cells it matches;
• enable or disable it;
• duplicate it, copy it, or paste after it;
• insert a rule before or after it;
• move it (past the group’s edge, it moves into the next group);
• delete it.

The rule editor:

• Pattern: pick a value above the grid. G1, G2… stand for any value of an IntGrid value group, and * for any value at all. Left click requires it, right click forbids it, and middle click clears the cell. The yellow cell is the one that gets the tile. Size: odd numbers, up to 9.
• Tiles: individual tiles (one at random per match) or rectangles (stamps placed as a block, around the pivot). Use picked tiles replaces them with the palette’s selection; Add picked adds to them. Right-click a tile to remove it.
• Out of bounds: what cells outside the level count as.
• Break on match: later rules don’t paint the cells this rule painted.
• Flip X / Y: also match the pattern mirrored; the tiles flip too.
• Chance: the percentage of matching cells that get tiles.
• Opacity of the tiles.
• Modulo, checker, Perlin noise and offsets have their own sections.

The eye in the rule’s header shows the cells it matches in the canvas (green). Changing a rule redraws every level.

Rule groups: duplicate and remap

Duplicate and remap copies a group. Each IntGrid value it uses can become another value, and its tiles can move by whole cells in the tileset. For example, “0, 4” uses the tiles four rows lower: another terrain drawn in the same layout. Use it to reuse one set of wall rules for every material.

Biome: when the layer has a biome field (Layers tab), a group can require some of that enum’s values in the level’s field: any of them (OR) or all of them (AND).

Optional groups are off by default. You turn them on per level with the check box in the Layers panel.

Modulo and checker

Modulo X, Y matches only every Nth column / row. Offset X, Y shifts which columns / rows are picked. Checker shifts every other row (horizontal) or column (vertical) by half the modulo, which gives a checkerboard.

Perlin noise

Matches only where a noise is positive, which gives natural-looking patches (grass, cracks). Seed picks another noise. A smaller scale gives bigger patches; more octaves give rougher edges.

Tile offsets

Tile offset X, Y moves the placed tiles by that many pixels. Random X / Y min, max adds a random shift per cell, which breaks up repeated patterns. The offsets don’t change which cells match.

The Rules Assistant

The Assistant writes a group of wall rules. It is LDtk’s rules wizard.

1. Click Assistant in the Rules tab.
2. Name the group, pick the IntGrid value the walls draw over, and what the edges are next to: anything else, or one specific value (walls next to water, say).
3. Click a shape in the grid: a single cell, walls, corners, turns, T crossings, diagonals, the full centre…
4. Pick its tile(s) in the Layers panel’s tileset, then click Use picked tiles. With several tiles, one is picked at random. Right-click a shape to clear it.
5. Click Create rules.

Shapes left empty use a mirrored shape when there is one: give Wall N tiles, and Wall S uses them flipped. The group remembers its tiles. Double-click it, or pick Edit with the Assistant from its menu, to change them and Update rules.

Terrains

Pick a 3x3 block of tiles in the palette: corners, edges and the middle. Then click 3x3 next to Empty group. It adds nine rules that draw the block over the picked value: edges where the neighbours are empty, and the middle inside.

Project tab

Project settings on the left and the level fields on the right. The sections are File, Names, Defaults, Advanced and Description.

Project files

• File extension: .ldtk or .json. The project file is renamed; the content is the same.
• Backup on save: before each save, the files as they were on disk (the project and its level files) are copied to <backups>/<project iid>_<date>_<time>/. Backups kept (3-50) limits how many stay; the oldest go first. Backup folder is relative to the project (default: <project name>/backups). Back up now makes one immediately.
• Minify JSON: the file is one line. It’s smaller, but harder to read or merge.
• External level files: each level goes in its own .ldtkl file, in a folder named like the project. This is good for big projects and version control. Turning it off brings the levels back into the project file; the .ldtkl files are removed on save.

Exports

Exports run after each save (and with Export now). Their files go in the <project name> folder next to the project file. Turning an export off removes its folder on the next save.

• Images: PNGs in <project name>/png.

  • One PNG per layer: the tiles of each Tiles layer and auto layer. IntGrid layers also get a tiny map with one pixel per cell in the value’s colour (-int).
  • One PNG per level: the layers merged.
  • One PNG per layer and per level: both.

  File names use %level_name, %level_idx, %layer_name, %layer_idx and %world. Export backgrounds adds each level’s colour and image (<level>_bg.png, and under merged images).

• Simplified export: for each level, <project name>/simplified/<level>/ gets:

  • data.json: the level’s name, position, size, colour, neighbours and fields, the layer images, and its entities (grouped by name, with their fields);
  • a PNG per layer, _composite.png and _bg.png;
  • a CSV per IntGrid layer.

  Simple engines can read it without an LDtk importer.

• Tiled export: a .tmx map per level of the first world and a .world file, in <project name>/tiled. IntGrid layers become coloured tilesets; stacked auto tiles take several layers; entities become objects with their fields as properties. Tiled has one grid per map, so layers with another grid size are left out. The log lists what couldn’t be exported.

Custom commands

Commands the project runs in its folder. Each one runs manually (Run manual or Cmd+R), after loading, before saving (the save waits for it), or after saving. Use quotes to group arguments: python "tools/export levels.py" --fast.

Before running a project’s commands the first time, the editor shows them and asks: Allow, Block or Cancel. The choice is remembered for that project (in the editor settings); Reset trust asks again. Output shows in the Command window, with Kill to stop a command. The window stays open when a command fails.

Identifiers

Identifier style controls how identifiers are written:

• Capitalize: My_identifier_1, the default.
• Uppercase: MY_IDENTIFIER_1.
• Lowercase: my_identifier_1.
• Free: letters are kept as typed.

Changing it converts every identifier of the project: enums and their values, layers, entities, tilesets, worlds and levels. It asks first, and undo brings the old names back. Characters other than letters, digits and _ always become _.

Level names: the pattern for levels’ automatic identifiers:

• %idx / %idx1: the level’s index in its world (from 0 / from 1);
• %world: the world’s name;
• %depth (or %d): its world depth;
• %x / %y: its position (Free and GridVania layouts);
• %gx / %gy: its GridVania cell.

Levels whose Auto box is ticked (Level tab) are renamed with it when they move, are resized from the left / top, or are added. Untick Auto to name a level yourself (renaming it unticks it too).

Defaults

The grid of new layers, the size and pivot of new entities, the workspace colour around the levels, and the background colour of levels that don’t set their own (those levels follow when it changes).

Advanced flags

LDtk’s advanced options, mostly for compatibility:

• Multi-worlds: several worlds (see Worlds).
• Prefix level file names with their index: 0000-Level_0.ldtkl, … Files are renamed on the next save.
• Export the old IntGrid format: also writes "intGrid": [{coordId, v}], for importers older than LDtk 0.8.
• Use the “Multilines” type name: multi-line text fields are typed Multilines instead of String.
• Export the old table of contents: the table of contents also lists entities’ data in the old format.

Saving

Saving and the file format

Cmd+S saves the .ldtk, plus the .ldtkl files of external levels that changed. The JSON is laid out the way LDtk writes it. Fields this editor doesn’t know about are kept, and a file saved without changes is identical to the one LDtk wrote.

Undo

Cmd+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z. Each stroke, move or edit is one step, and the editor keeps the last 100.

Keyboard shortcuts

Key
B R E F I V M	Brush, Rectangle, Erase, Fill, Pick, Select, Move levels
Alt (held)	Select with any tool
1-9	IntGrid value
X / Y	Flip the stamp
Shift+R	Stamp / Random tile mode
Shift+T	Tile stacking
Shift+S	Save the picked tiles as a group
Shift + drag	Rectangle with the Brush / Erase
G	Grid
Shift+A	Single layer mode (the other layers faded)
Alt+R	Draw auto-layer tiles on / off
Shift+H	Details (level names, entity labels, field shapes) on / off
Shift+E	Select empty spaces too
Tab	Zen mode: the canvas alone
Shift+W	Fit the whole world
Alt+arrows	The neighbouring level
PageUp / PageDown	The next world depth up / down
Shift+PageUp / PageDown	Move the level one depth up / down
P L U T C	Project, Layers, Enums, Tilesets, Level tabs
Cmd+K / Cmd+F	Search (levels, layers, entities, definitions)
Cmd+R	Run the manual custom commands
Home	Fit the level
Delete	Delete the selection
Arrows	Move the selection
Cmd+A / Cmd+Shift+A	Select all (layer / every layer)
Cmd+C / X / V / D	Copy, cut, paste, duplicate
Esc	Clear the selection
Cmd+S	Save
Cmd+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z	Undo / redo
F1	This reference, at the hovered item
Cmd+Shift+1 / 2	Game tab / Level tab

Search

Cmd+K (or Cmd+F) opens the search. Type part of a name to find:

• levels (by name or iid);
• the active level’s layers;
• entities in any level (by name, iid, or a text / enum field value);
• entity, layer and enum definitions (enums also by value), tilesets and rule groups.

Use the arrows and Enter, or click a result. Levels open, entities are selected and framed, and definitions open in their tab.

The lists (Levels panel, Layers, Entities, Enums and Tilesets tabs) have a filter box: only the items whose name contains its text stay.

View modes

The toolbar buttons and keys next to the grid button:

• Single layer mode (Shift+A): the active level’s other layers are faded.
• Auto-layer tiles (Alt+R): off shows the IntGrid values instead of the tiles their rules generate.
• Details (Shift+H): level names, entity names, field labels and field shapes (points, paths, radii, references).
• Zen mode (Tab): only the canvas. Press Tab again to bring the panels back.
• Select empty spaces (Shift+E): rectangle selections also take empty cells, so moving them clears where they land.

Navigation and world depths

Alt+arrows open the nearest level in that direction. Levels have a world depth (the Level tab’s Depth): levels at another depth than the active one are drawn darker. PageUp / PageDown go to the nearest level one depth up or down, and Shift+PageUp / PageDown move the active level there. Shift+W frames the whole world.

Files changed on disk

The editor watches the files the project uses:

• When a tileset image changes, it is reloaded. Its size, cells and opaque-tile data update, and auto tiles are regenerated.
• When a level background image changes, it is reloaded.
• When an external enum file changes, it is synced (it asks when used values would go).
• When another program changes the project file, the editor asks: Reload (unsaved changes are lost) or Keep mine (the next save overwrites it).